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Saturday, October 10, 2015

Mercy in its Biblical Context

Frankly, I'm fed up with people complaining about how "harsh," "judgmental" and "merciless" the Church is towards people living in objectively sinful situations, e.g. fornicators, adulterers, sodomites, etc.

Let's view the issue in its proper biblical context.

In the time of the Prophets, adultery was a capital crime punishable with death (cf. Leviticus 20:10), as was sodomy (Leviticus 20:13). If we still lived under the Law, millions around the world would be on death row right now. And they would deserve it, because they have committed nothing less than an abomination in the eyes of God. That is God's justice in action.

Under Christ, her Head, the Church requires that one guilty of adultery confess his sin, discontinue the objectively sinful behavior and make a firm purpose of amendment. The same goes for sodomites. That is God's mercy in action.

I'll repeat it, just so it sinks in: Adulterers and sodomites still deserve the death penalty according to the Law. It is only by the mercy of Christ that they are given the chance to repent and mend their ways. If they repent, the Lord will forgive all their transgressions, and welcome them into His Father's house. But if they don't, if they continue in the way of sin without repenting, the Good Lord will most certainly cast them into a lake of everlasting fire - because that is the just punishment for their sin.

The day of God's mercy has already dawned. If you can't see it, it's because you've chosen to remain in the dark.

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